Way back in 1998, well before Microsoft had any pretensions of invading your living room with a game console, their nascent Microsoft Games division put out a little something for PC called Motocross Madness. This was the second in a trio of “Madness” franchises in the late 90s (which also included Monster Truck and Midtown Madness), focusing on the fun of racing and flinging around dirt bikes in far off locations. It was very well received for its wide open sandbox gameplay during a period dominated by claustrophobic shooters like Quake. While there are many other franchises we’d love Microsoft to revisit like MechAssault, it is indeed comforting to see them going back to their roots in commissioning the Xbox Live Arcade version. And fortunately for us, the result is a game that hasn’t betrayed its bloodline, and consequently probably one of the best games to take advantage of our avatars, too! Find out more when Micheal LeParc of Gametactics reviews Motocross Madness for Xbox 360 (XBLA).
Carl Williams writes, "To say Super Mario Maker is a smash hit release is quite an understatement. The 2D sandbox game had reached a million units sold worldwide in about 20 days, according to reports. This is interesting considering the hell Nintendo constantly gets for the Wii U, something that goes back to the Nintendo 64 days and has plagued every console by Nintendo since then. That is a lack of third party support. Nintendo has proven that, while third party titles are great, gamers will still buy their first party releases as they continue down a road less traveled, a road that Nintendo seemingly is the only company that knows about. With Super Mario Maker, Nintendo continued their trek down that road. This time finding success by giving gamers the power to make their own 2D Mario adventures. Could this have been spurred by the popularity of level editors for classic games? We may never know what spurred Nintendo to release Super Mario Maker but I do know about ten other games that featured level editors that allowed you to create all new adventures using assets in the game."
There's plenty of games that let the players create levels. Counter-strike, StarCraft, Little Big Planet, etc. But this is the first time players can create Mario Bros levels. That's where the appeal is for me. Plus finally we can use the Wiiu pad for something!
Lost hours of my youth making levels in Command & Conquer and Warhammer 40K: Chaos Gate :)
Actually come to think of it nearly every isometric RTS on PC in the 90's had a built in level editor!
Far Cry has always had a great level editor! Me and my friend were obsessed with making the worst level possible and calling them "Kevin Costners Waterworld".
Me and another friend used to give eachother 30 mins to make the best skatepark we could in THPS on ps1 :D (We did the same with songs in Music2000, filled so many Memory cards because of it)
I remember one of the Tenchu games let you make levels/missions.
Timesplitters had a very easy and intuitive level creator too! (or was it TS2?)
Anyone else have any fond memories creating stuff in games they'd like to share?!
Looking forward to losing even more time creating stuff when Media Molecules 'Dreams' hits the ps4 :D
I actually well up any time I see the trailer for Dreams because it's incredible to take in just how far this little hobby of ours has come in just a handful of decades.
Here's something I did earlier in Tearaway Unplugged :)
"Me & My Dog Save the World" (Warning, contains Phallic Images, cos who doesn't draw penis's their first day with a new Media Molecule game?! Plus I can be very immature sometimes XD)
https://www.youtube.com/wat...
Brings back memories of Forge on Halo 3 and the tedious yet in depth level creator of Far Cry.
Time splitters was a particular highlight. However. Being handed the keys to the Mushroom Kingdom via Nintendo is on an entirely different level. Dreams do come true.
Microsoft has launched August's Games with Gold promotion, offering free downloads of two Xbox One titles and one Xbox 360 game.
Xbox Live Gold subscribers can now download Strike Suit Zero: Director's Cut free of charge until the end of the month.
AH crew is back playing Motocross Madness!
